Spain detains eight over suspected al-Qaeda collaboration

Spanish police have detained eight people on charges of collaborating with Islamist terrorism, police said Wednesday, DPA reported.

The eight were held in Barcelona late Tuesday and early Wednesday. They included seven Pakistanis and one person of African origin.

The detainees were believed to have links with al-Qaeda and with the Pakistan-based organization Lashkar-e-Toiba, the daily El Pais said.

The group are suspected of falsifying documents sent to Pakistan and other Asian countries, in order to be distributed to terrorists worldwide, according to El Pais.

The suspects were also charged with lending financial support to terrorist groups. Police searched several addresses, seizing documents and computer materials.

Arrests linked to the case were also made in other European countries, according to El Pais.

Lashkar-e-Toiba is believed to have been behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed more than 180 people.